Part 16 (1/2)
My troubles were not at an end, however The bill put the taxation in the hands of the local county boards, and as the railways soh several different counties, this was inadvisable It was the end of the session, and the Legislature adjourned The corporations affected, through various counsel, and the different party leaders of both organizations, urgedespecial stress on this feature, and asking that I wait until the following year, when a good h with this obnoxious feature struck out I had thirty days under the lahich to sign the bill
If I did not sign it by the end of that time it would not become a law
I answered reed with the, but that I would rather have the bill with this feature than not have it at all; and that I was not willing to trust to what ht be done a year later Therefore, I explained, I would reconvene the Legislature in special session, and if the legislators chose to a the power of taxation in the State instead of in the county or lad; but that if they failed to ainal bill and let it become law as it was
When the representatives of Mr Platt and of the corporations affected found they could do no better, they assented to this proposition
Efforts were tentativelyamendments that would nullify the effect of the law, or by withdrawing the lahen the Legislature convened; which would at once have deprived me of the whip hand On May 12 I wrote Senator Platt, outlining the amendments I desired, and said: ”Of course it n the present bill if the proposed bill containing the changes outlined above fails to pass” On May 18 I notified the Senate leader, John Raines, by telegraislature has no power to withdraw the Ford bill If atten the bill at once” On the sa the bill the leaders were preparing: ”Some provisions of bill very objectionable I am at work on bill to show you to-es than those outlined in e” My wishes were heeded, and when I had reconvened the Legislature it ae; and in its amended for which afforded an index of the good faith of the corporations that had been protesting to ed was inserted in the law, and the laas signed, they turned round and refused to pay the taxes; and in the lawsuit that followed, they claimed that the laas unconstitutional, because it contained the very clause which they had so clamorously demanded Senator David B Hill had appeared before e; and he then appeared before the courts to uh to the Supreme Court of the United States, which declared the law constitutional during the time that I was President
One of the painful duties of the chief executive in States like New York, as well as in the Nation, is the refusing of pardons Yet I can iood citizenshi+p than the ability to steel one's heart in this reatest in two classes of cases: first, that where capital punishment is inflicted; second, that where the man is prominent socially and in the business world, and where in consequence his crime is apt to have been one concerned in soards capital cases, the trouble is that emotional men and women always see only the individual whose fate is up at the moment, and neither his victim nor therun be harmed by what they ask Moreover, almost any criminal, however brutal, has usually soed, ill plead for him If the mother is alive she will always co that the case in which she is so concerned is peculiar, that in this case a pardon should be granted It was really heartrending to have to see the kinsfolk and friends ofthe very rare occasions when anything governmental or official caused me to lose sleep were the ti a plea for a criminal so wicked, so utterly brutal and depraved, that it would have been a crime on my part to remit his punishment
On the other hand, there were certain criry Such crimes were, for instance, rape, or the circulation of indecent literature, or anything connected ould now be called the ”white slave” traffic, or wife ross cruelty to women and children, or seduction and abandonirl who in each instance of cases that actually came before me, either while I was Governor or while I was President In an astonishi+ng nuned petitions or wrote letters asking me to show leniency to the crihs had coirl, and another in which a physician of wealth and high standing had seduced a girl and then induced her to commit abortion--I rather lost my temper, and wrote to the individuals who had asked for the pardon, saying that I extreretted that it was not in my power to increase the sentence I then let the facts be ht that my petitioners deserved public censure
Whether they received this public censure or not I did not know, but that ave me real satisfaction The list of these petitioners was a fairly long one, and included two United States Senators, a Governor of a State, two judges, an editor, and some eminent lawyers and business men
In the class of cases where the offense was one involving the e sums of money the reason for the pressure was different Cases of this kind more frequently came before me when I was President, but they also came before me when I was Governor, chiefly in the cases of county treasurers who had enate, an official connected with so corporation, or a Government official in a responsible fiduciary position, necessarily belongs a the men who have succeeded in life Thisin comfort, and perhaps luxury and refinehters have been well educated In such a case thedisaster to the wife and children, and the people of the corow to feel the most intense sympathy for the bowed-doomen and children who suffer for thein life that sois vicarious If it were possible in such a case to think only of the banker's or county treasurer's wife and children, any man would pardon the offender at once Unfortunately, it is not right to think only of the women and children The very fact that in cases of this class there is certain to be pressure froh sources, pressure soh remotely, interested in the man's criminality, no less than pressure because of honest sympathy with the wife and children, ood public servant shall, no ret, steel his heart and do his duty by refusing to let the wrong-doer out My experience of the way in which pardons are often granted is one of the reasons why I do not believe that life imprisonment for murder and rape is a proper substitute for the death penalty The average term of so-called life imprisonment in this country is only about fourteen years
Of course there were cases where I either commuted sentences or pardoned offenders with very real pleasure For instance, when President, I frequently co in the Indian Territory because the penalty for stealing a horse was disproportionate to the penalty for many other crinorant young felloho found a half-wild horse, and really did not co like as serious an offense as the penalty indicated
The judges would be obliged to give thethat if there had been a less penalty they would have inflicted it, and I would then commute the sentence to the penalty thus indicated
In one case in New York I pardoned outright a ree, and I did this on the recommendation of a friend, Father Doyle of the Paulist Fathers I had become intimate with the Paulist Fathers while I was Police Coment, for I had found that they always told me exactly what the facts were about any ed to their church or not In this case the convicted ly built, respectable old Irish establishhborhood, which was then of a rather lawless type, used to try to destroy the property of the companies In a conflict with a watchs was slain The watchht up over the acquittal Shortly afterwards, a gang of the sahs attacked another watchman, the old Irishman in question, and finally, to save his own life, he was obliged in self-defense to kill one of his assailants The feeling in the coainst hihtened and thought that it would be better to throw over the watchman He was convicted Father Doyle came to me, told me that he knew the man well, that he was one of the best members of his church, adht for his life while loyally doing his duty, and that the conviction represented the triuh element of the district and the abandonment of this man, by those who should have stood by him, under the influence of an unworthy fear I looked into the case, caave the man a full pardon before he had served thirty days
The various clashes between myself and the machine,ht on a curious situation in the Republican National Convention at Philadelphia in June, 1900 Senator Platt and the New York et me out of the Governorshi+p, chiefly because of the hostility of the big corporation men towards me; but they had also beco on my behalf that it would be difficult to refuse ly decided to push e of the fact that there was at that tie [See Appendix B to this chapter] I , and as I greatly disliked the office of Vice-President and was much interested in the Governorshi+p, I announced that I would not accept the Vice-Presidency I was one of the delegates to Philadelphia On reaching there I found that the situation was complicated Senator Hanna appeared on the surface to have control of the Convention He was anxious that I should not be nominated as Vice-President Senator Platt was anxious that I should be noet me out of the New York Governorshi+p Each took a position opposite to that of the other, but each at that tis about s that differed My supporters in New York State did not wish me nominated for Vice-President because they wished me to continue as Governor; but in every other State all the people who admired me were bound that I should be nominated as Vice-President These people were al Mr McKinley renory at Senator Hanna's opposition to me as Vice-President
He in his turn suddenly becaer these h they could not have prevented the nomination, such opposition would have been a serious blow in the caan to waver
Meanwhile a ation was called Most of the delegates were under the control of Senator Platt The Senator notified me that if I refused to accept the nomination for Vice-President I would be beaten for the nomination for Governor I answered that I would accept the challenge, that ould have a straight-out fight on the proposition, and that I would begin it at once by telling the asse that I intended to fight for the Governorshi+p noht Senator Platt to teration for me was abandoned, and Lieutenant-Governor Woodruff was presented for nomination in my place
I supposed that this closed the incident, and that no further effort would be made to nominate me for the Vice-Presidency On the contrary, the effect was directly the reverse The upset of the New York ates from other States that it was necessary to draft me for the nomination By next day Senator Hanna himself concluded that this was a necessity, and acquiesced in the ainstthat there should be any chance of supposing that the New Yorkers had noet rid of me, the result was that I was nominated and seconded from outside States No other candidate was placed in the field
By this tiislature had adjourned, and most of my work as Governor of New York was over One unexpected bit of business arose, however It was the year of the Presidential can Tammany, which had been lukewarm about Bryan in 1896, cordially supported him in 1900; and when Tam candidate to keep a sharp lookout for election frauds The city government was in the hands of Tammany; but I had power to remove the Mayor, the Sheriff, and the District Attorney for malfeasance or misfeasance in office Such power had not been exercised by any previous Governor, as far as I knew; but it existed, and if the misfeasance or malfeasance warranted it, and if the Governor possessed the requisite deterht to be, exercised
By an Act of the Legislature, a State Bureau of Elections had been created in New York City, and a Superintendent of Elections appointed by the Governor The Chief of the State Bureau of Elections was John McCullagh, formerly in the Police Department when I was Police Commissioner The Chief of Police for the city was William F Devery, one of the Tammany leaders, who represented in the Police Departainst while Commissioner On November 4 Devery directed his subordinates in the Police Departiven to his deputies, orders which were essential if ere to secure an honest election in the city I had just returned froamore Hill I had no direct power over Devery; but the Mayor had; and I had power over the Mayor Accordingly, I at once wrote to the Mayor of New York, to the Sheriff of New York, and to the District Attorney of New York County the following letters:
STATE OF NEW YORK OYSTER BAY, November 5, 1900
To the Mayor of the City of New York
Sir: My attention has been called to the official order issued by Chief of Police Devery, in which he directs his subordinates to disregard the Chief of the State Election Bureau, John McCullagh, and his deputies
Unless you have already taken steps to secure the recall of this order, it is necessary for ed to hold you responsible as the head of the city government for the action of the Chief of Police, if it should result in any breach of the peace and intiainst the election laws The State and city authorities should work together I will not fail to call to summary account either State or city authority in the event of either being guilty of intimidation or connivance at fraud or of failure to protect every legal voter in his rights I therefore hereby notify you that in the event of any wrong-doing following upon the failure immediately to recall Chief Devery's order, or upon any action or inaction on the part of Chief Devery, I must necessarily call you to account
Yours, etc, THEODORE ROOSEVELT
STATE OF NEW YORK OYSTER BAY, November 5, 1900
To the Sheriff of the County of New York
Sir: My attention has been called to the official order issued by Chief of Police Devery in which he directs his subordinates to disregard the Chief of the State Election Bureau, John McCullagh, and his deputies